Inside Unmanned Systems

AUG-SEP 2018

Inside Unmanned Systems provides actionable business intelligence to decision-makers and influencers operating within the global UAS community. Features include analysis of key technologies, policy/regulatory developments and new product design.

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15 August/September 2018 unmanned systems
inside
The company has one drone pilot who handles all the
f lights, Pittman said. He was trained by SITECH South,
the region's official Microdrones distributor. He can f ly
as much as needed, usually 2-3 times a week. The pilot
then processes the data, which takes about four hours
to complete. The drone also now comes equipped with
LiDAR, making it possible for the team to access data in
less than an hour.
"Because we're saving time we can topo way more than
we ever did," Pittman said. "And it frees up our crews to
do what they need to do rather than working on a topo.
That was traditionally part of their jobs, but we've been
able to separate that out because of the drone technology."
The high-resolution photographs the UAS collects also
can be seamlessly stitched together to create mosaics of
every site, Pittman said.
"That really helps when the owners, developers or any-
one has a question about something on the topo," he said.
"I have a high resolution photo that shows what type of
material is on a site. We can then do a stock pile evalua-
tion and see how much of that material is there."
Why Microdrones
When the construction company first decided to invest
in a drone, the team knew they needed a commercial
grade system with endurance, said Paul Shepard, a Sales
Engineer for SITECH South. Brent Scarbrough purchas-
es GPS solutions from SITECH South, so it made sense
for them to consider Microdrones first. After they learned
more about the mdMapper1000DG, it became clear it
was exactly what they were looking for.
" They knew they'd f ly the system several times a
week, and needed a drone that could handle a heav y
workload as well as carry various payloads, including
high-res cameras and LiDAR," Rosenbalm said. "The
mdMapper1000DG offers both, and has motors that
last up to 10,000 hours with little maintenance. The
system's lower speed also produces less noise, which
means it can typically f ly undetected."
"And because the system uses direct georeferencing,
there's no need for multiple ground control targets,"
Shepard said.
"With a traditional drone, you're going to put out 10
to 15 ground control targets," Shepard said. "They would
have to put those out uniformly across the site, intermin-
gling with the machines. By using the mdMapper1000DG,
they only need a few ground control targets, which speeds
things up and keeps them out of harm's way.
A Learning Curve
After investing in the drone, it took time for the team to
incorporate the best workf low, Pittman said. They were
bringing in bad data at first, but with guidance from
Microdrones and SITECH South, they now have an ef-
ficient solution that quickly provides them with accurate
topographic maps.
"They worked with us to make sure all the settings
on the drones were correct and that we knew what they
were," Pittman said. "Flying the drone is the easiest part.
The hardest part is doing the processing and having a guy
in place who can replicate a good process over and over.
We're finally at that point."
Solving a Problem
Developing accurate topographic maps can be expensive,
which is why many owners choose to go with less costly,
but also less accurate, methods to obtain them, Pittman
said. Often, the maps aren't a true representation of the
site, which can cost construction companies a lot of time
and money. The drone gives Pittman and his team access
to a more accurate topographic map in less time than tra-
ditional methods, ensuring they're properly prepared for
the project from the beginning.
"The engineers can get the topo from a variety of
places, whether it's LiDAR, f lood mapping or GIS. That
makes a big difference, but we never know where they
come from," Pittman said. "It could be really close or it
could just be an assumption of what the contours are.
When we f ly the drone, we get a topo we can compare
to what the engineer thinks the site looks like before the
dirt starts moving."
A drone flight takes a fraction of the time of
almost anything we were doing by hand with
conventional GPS instruments."
Ashley Thomas Pittman, Brent Scarbrough & Co. Inc.
"